Racism and Discrimination

SFM research looks at different ways in which racism is expressed, for example as an ideology to legitimise discriminatory practices. Discrimination is an unjust form of unequal treatment. Manifest racism taking the form of violence is restricted to marginal groups on the extreme right. However, in its latent and invisible form racism occurs in a subtle manner that is not always immediately apparent.

The research carried out by the SFM covers a wide range of topics:

Discrimination against children of immigrants in the labour market

Political mobilization of the extreme right in Switzerland

Attitudes of the Swiss population towards immigrants

Measures to prevent racism/discrimination in national and cantonal integration policies

Forms of discrimination hindering access to the labour market

Voluntary measures adopted by employers to combat discrimination in access to the labour market

Institutional discrimination linked to the status of foreigners and asylum seekers

List of research projects

Abstract: In the past three decades, immigration has become systematically politicized by parties on the right. It appears that support for anti-immigrant policies and organizations is growing. There is a growing literature on the attitudes of the mainstream society towards foreigners and immigrants, but there is very little research on Switzerland. The project asks one question: How can we explain individual differences in attitudes toward foreign citizens in Switzerland? The most common explanation for attitudes towards foreigners is that negative attitudes towards foreigners and immigrants are a direct reaction against unwanted competition. By combining insights from economic and political sciences, the project will offer new insights into the dynamics of attitudes towards foreigners, paying close attention to different explanatory theories. The project is innovative by using individual-level panel data from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP). This will provide new insights on how attitudes towards foreigners and immigrants change over time within individuals, filling a gap in the existing literature. In the project, we consider the link between education and attitudes in a systematic and rigorous manner. Existing research tended to ignore such endogeneity problems. Innovative is further that we add considerations of the political system and formal institutions.

Abstract: The large-scale migration caused all sorts of tensions in the receiving countries, particularly when it became clear that immigrants planned to settle permanently and eventually claimed to participate socially and politically in their countries of settlement. However, the presence of immigrants did not yet become a politically contested issue everywhere. In some countries such as Spain, Ireland immigration did not become as politicized yet as in other European countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Belgium. The ways in which the issue of immigration became politicized are very different according the country. This research project has four aims. First, it will increase the knowledge about the conflicts over the social and political participation of immigrants in Western Europe. Secondly, it will answer to the question why and when do potential conflicts become politicized, and when and why do they not become politicized. Thirdly, the project will increase the knowledge of the way political processes are constrained by institutional conditions. Fourthly, the project will provide policy-relevant information by assessing which actions of state institutions have been more or less successful in managing conflict on immigration and integration. The project focuses on the role of four types of actors the state, political parties, movements and the media in politicizing, or de-politicizing, the issue of immigration in seven receiving countries (Austria, Belgium, Britain, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland). The dependent variable in our study is the extent to which and the way in which the issue of immigration became politicized. This will be measured on the basis of claims and counter-claims made by three types of movements: interest groups of immigrants, anti-immigration movements, and anti-racist solidarity groups. Moreover a comparative approach will be used to study divergences and/or convergences between selected countries.

Tissot, Florian (2016). "Highly-Skilled Labour Migration in Switzerland: Household Strategies and Professional Careers" Working Paper Series “Gender, Diversity and Migration.” 10, Faculty of Social Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt.